Environment news

• China's Chang'e-5 mission returns Moon samples

  16-12-2020 19:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A capsule lands in Inner Mongolia with the first lunar rock to be brought to Earth in 44 years.
  
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• Kate Grenville, Sofie Laguna, Julia Baird and others: the 20 best Australian books of 2020

  16-12-2020 17:30
  
  Diligent journalism, urgent fiction, wondrous imagination: Guardian Australia critics and staff bring you their top reads of the year – in no particular orderPicador Continue reading...
  
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• As storms swamp Australia's east coast, some farmers are still enduring relentless drought

  16-12-2020 17:30
  
  People in outback Queensland are still hoping the La Niña weather pattern will bring desperately needed rainRainfall records were broken across western Queensland in September. Heavy downpours reached the bush again in early November.The early-season rain – and the onset of a La Niña weather pattern – had outback folks talking about whether the eight-year drought might be about to break. Continue reading...
  
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• As storms swamp Australia's east coast, is the eight-year drought finally over?

  16-12-2020 17:30
  
  Farmers in outback Queensland are still waiting for the La Niña weather pattern to bring desperately needed rainRainfall records were broken across western Queensland in September. Heavy downpours reached the bush again in early November.The early-season rain – and the onset of a La Niña weather pattern – had outback folks talking about whether the eight-year drought might be about to break. Continue reading...
  
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• #SustyTalk: P&G's Frantz Beznik on water stewardship and green innovations

  16-12-2020 16:44
  
  edie's #SustyTalk interview series continues with an exclusive interview with Procter & Gamble's global head of sustainable innovation Frantz Beznik.
  
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• Cash for cages? Japan probes alleged bribery from chicken industry

  16-12-2020 15:49
  
  Investigation launched into alleged donation to close ally of Japanese PM after resistance to ending use of cramped cages for egg-laying hensJapan’s decision to resist international pressure to improve conditions for egg-laying chickens is under scrutiny after allegations of bribery involving a former agriculture minister.Takamori Yoshikawa, a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) who served as agriculture minister from October 2018 to September 2019, is alleged to have accep
  
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• Capella delivers super sharp satellite radar pictures

  16-12-2020 15:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US start-up Capella is in the vanguard of companies changing the way satellites see the Earth.
  
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• Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah: Air pollution a factor in girl's death, inquest finds

  16-12-2020 14:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah was "living on a knife edge" before her fatal asthma attack, the inquest heard.
  
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• Air pollution a cause in girl's death, coroner rules in landmark case

  16-12-2020 14:23
  
  Coroner says failure to reduce pollution levels to legal limits was factor in death of Ella Kissi-Debrah, who had severe asthmaA coroner has made legal history by ruling that air pollution was a cause of the death of a nine-year-old girl.Philip Barlow, the inner south London coroner, said Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death in February 2013 was caused by acute respiratory failure, severe asthma and air pollution exposure.Continue reading...
  
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• East Africa fears second wave - of locust swarms

  16-12-2020 13:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Good breeding conditions mean millions of people are now threatened in the Horn of Africa and Yemen.
  
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• Science-based targets and renewable energy investments: Credit Suisse and Nest unveil first steps towards net-zero

  16-12-2020 13:12
  
  Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse has unveiled a string of new climate measures, in the same week that the UK's largest pension scheme, Nest, outlined steps to help it meet its net-zero goal.
  
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• Ella Kissi-Debrah: how a mother’s fight for justice may help prevent other air pollution deaths

  16-12-2020 13:03
  
  Landmark ruling that toxic fumes killed nine-year-old Londoner follows long campaign for truthUntil now, the statistics on air pollution deaths have been presented in black and white – numbers on a page that estimate between 28,000 and 36,000 people will die as a result of toxic air pollution every year in the UK.But the life and death of nine-year-old Ella Kissi-Debrah is in full colour: from the pictures of her wearing her gymnastics leotard hung with medals, to the image of her mother a
  
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• Air pollution caused girl's death, coroner rules in landmark case

  16-12-2020 12:56
  
  Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death in February 2013 found to have been caused by acute respiratory failure, severe asthma and air pollution exposureA coroner has made legal history by ruling that air pollution was a cause of the death of a nine-year-old girl.Philip Barlow, inner south London coroner, said Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death in February 2013 was caused by acute respiratory failure, severe asthma and air pollution exposure.Continue reading...
  
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• Ferrero unveils fresh commitments to sustainable packaging ahead of Christmas

  16-12-2020 12:30
  
  After being criticised by green groups last year for producing heavy and hard-to-recycle plastic packaging, Fererro has joined new industry commitments aimed at reducing plastic use and improving recyclability.
  
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• Jaguar Land Rover invests in blockchain for sustainable materials sourcing

  16-12-2020 12:02
  
  Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) venture capital and mobility services arm has invested in a blockchain technology scale-up that will help it to make supply chains for battery materials more sustainable.
  
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• The Alaska facility giving aquatic animals a 'second chance at life'

  16-12-2020 12:00
  
  Alaska SeaLife Center is the only facility in the state that rehabilitates aquatic animals – but the future of the 22-year-old center appeared uncertain this yearWhen Pushki was brought to his new home on 12 November, he was scared, dangerously skinny, and severely dehydrated. The two-week-old sea otter pup had been found crying on the beach in Homer, Alaska, seemingly having been separated from his mother. He needed help, fast. Continue reading...
  
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• ExxonMobil's new climate targets slammed by investors and green groups

  16-12-2020 11:32
  
  US-based oil major ExxonMobil has outlined new emissions reduction targets through to 2025, but green groups have called them "woefully inadequate" and investors are pushing for a restructure to its board of directors.
  
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• Heathrow Airport: Supreme Court gives go-ahead for third runway, despite climate campaigns

  16-12-2020 10:57
  
  The Supreme Court has decided to allow the Heathrow Airport expansion, despite the fact that the Court of Appeal ruled it unlawful on climate grounds earlier this year.
  
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• Heathrow wins court battle to build third runway

  16-12-2020 10:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  In a blow to campaigners, judges say ministers' decision to approve the runway was legitimate.
  
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• Top UK court overturns block on Heathrow's third runway

  16-12-2020 10:51
  
  Earlier ruling said expansion plan was illegal as government had not considered its climate commitmentsThe supreme court has overturned a February judgment that a third runway at Heathrow airport was illegal. It means the project can now seek planning permission, but the ultimate completion of the runway remains uncertain.The supreme court ruling marks the latest twist in years of legal and political wrangling over the climate impact and economic benefits of expanding the airport. The decision i
  
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• Mountain hares at risk as winter coats fail to camouflage in snowless Scottish Highlands

  16-12-2020 08:00
  
  Mountain hares in Scotland failing to adapt to climate change, leaving them more vulnerable to predators
  When snow begins to fall, mountain hares melt into the landscape by shedding their dark fur and becoming a brilliant – but camouflaged – white.But mountain hares in Scotland are failing to adapt to a dramatic increase in snowless days, with their white fur on dark mountainsides leaving them newly visible to potential predators. Continue reading...
  
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• 'We're getting Europe's waste?' US hit by plastic debris lost from UK ship

  16-12-2020 07:30
  
  Environmentalists question why waste washing up on Maine coast was being imported from Northern Ireland for energy productionBrightly coloured plastic debris from the UK has been washing up along the coast of Maine in the US after a shipment bound for incineration fell into the sea.The plastic debris, part of a 10,000-tonne consignment from Re-Gen Waste, a company based in Newry, Northern Ireland, has infuriated environmentalists and locals surprised to learn that the north-eastern state of Main
  
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• Plantwatch: holly, ivy and how warmer weather boosts Christmas plants

  16-12-2020 07:00
  
  These evergreens are thriving due to climate change but can smother other woodland speciesThe holly and ivy decorations should be looking lush this Christmas thanks to climate change boosting the growth of these plants.In a study 15 years ago, holly was found spreading further north in Europe than ever before. The plant had pushed northwards by 80 miles (130km) in more than 60 years and was seen in Norway and Sweden where it was being used for Christmas decorations for the first time.Ivy is also
  
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• 'It's over for us': how extreme weather is emptying Bangladesh's villages

  16-12-2020 07:00
  
  The frequency of natural disasters is making life in rural areas increasingly difficult, pushing inhabitants into city slumsThe house Faruk Hossain grew up in has, for the last six months, resisted being claimed by the river, as the rest of the village already has been.But slowly, as the waters have failed to seep away, he has come to accept that the family house has become uninhabitable. Like other villages nearby, Chakla in Bangladesh’s Satkhira district has not re-emerged from the flood
  
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• Storms lash Australia's east coast – in pictures

  16-12-2020 02:50
  
  Northern NSW and south-east Queensland hit by heavy rain, strong winds and king tides.Continue reading...
  
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